Events

Bone Fire

A photographic exhibition depicting unlit bonfires and their teenage guardians, exploring the history, traditions and community associated with structures we ritually set on fire.

Now irretrievably connected to Guy Fawkes, bonfires were in earlier times known as Bone Fires – symbolic burnings of the summer’s animal carcasses designed to ward off, and warn off, the oncoming frost. This annual ritual saw communities gather to celebrate, feast and stake claim to their survival through another seasonal cycle.

The Bone Fire series, taken over a five-year period in West Yorkshire, highlights a modern-day echo of those times. The transient world depicted in Casey’s photographs is one that the kids have created for themselves, having fun without leadership or instruction. Their chaotic, self-built structures are elevated into sculptures that live, burn and die in one breathless, annual week.

As the culture and tradition of Bonfire Night dies out, replaced by huge, ordered, adult-led corporate and municipal imitations, the Bone Fire series aims to preserve the inspiring social phenomenon of the tradition.

Join us for an opening event on Wednesday 2 October to view the work, speak to the artist and enjoy a complimentary drink. The exhibition will be open on Mondays and Wednesdays, 10am-5pm, until 27 November.